"Were we directed from Washington
when to plant and when to reap,
we would soon want bread."Thomas Jefferson, 1821

Leadership Q & A?

Leadership Speakers:
A Question and Answer Session?(I hope so!)

Time permitting in your schedule, Mr. Jefferson (or either compatriot, Clark and Boone) would be honored to entertain questions following his remarks.

Our experience has shown that your members will enjoy this session as much as Mr. Jefferson’s prepared remarks! Questions can be on any topic. Nothing is off-limits.

This portion can last for the time available or until all questions are answered, whichever comes first.

Most people need a little time to think about a question to ask. To provide that “thinking time,” I ask that you plant a couple questions to be asked at the very beginning. These questions get the session rolling. Without this help, the Q & A can fall flat.

I can provide several getting-started questions if you like, but I’d prefer not to. This portion is best unscripted. Planting my questions to get things started could make the whole session look staged. I don’t want that.

If I provide questions, the ones who ask them cannot stand up and read their question from a piece of paper. That really looks phony. Each questioner needs to read and understand the question and then ask it from memory, paraphrasing it in their own words.

Conclusion:1. My first choice is for you to plant three questions of your choosing, with people who are prepared to ask them immediately at the beginning of the Q&A.
2. Second choice is for me to supply you with three questions, to plant with people who are prepared to ask them immediately at the beginning of the session.
3. Not a choice at all is to open the Q&A with no one prepared to ask questions. (I’ve been there. It’s not pretty!)

Comments are closed.

Stump the Expert?

I can answer practically all the questions thrown my way. Two things cause me to stumble:

1. A really obscure question, based on some specific knowledge the questioner possesses which might be difficult for me to know.

2. Someone "thinks" they know something or a has particular quote they've heard attributed to Jefferson. They ask me to verify it. It is difficult to confirm or deny what might be a partial truth or a paraphrased quote.

In 20 years, I can recall only two questions Mr. Jefferson could not answer. Each illustrates a point above.

For #1, a brickmaker asked about the rationale for my "serpentine walls" made of brick. I bluffed an answer that might have satisfied others but the questioner knew I did not know the answer. I know it now!

For #2, someone in agriculture asked what I said should be done with a calf born after May 1. I didn't know and asked the questioner to refresh my memory. I still have no idea if what he told me was correct.

My Favorite Question
of all Time ...

... came from a kid in the audience, a boy about 10. Capt. Clark tells how Meriwether Lewis was shot in the backside by an Expedition member who was blind in one eye and had poor vision in the other. They boy asked, "Why did Lewis go hunting with a one-eyed blind guy in the first place?"

It was such a wonderful question that I laughed with delight! I told the young man that I was sure Capt. Lewis asked himself the same question!

Leadership Speakers: A Question and Answer Session?

(I hope so!)

Time permitting in your schedule, Mr. Jefferson (or either compatriot, Clark and Boone) would be honored to entertain questions following his remarks.

Our experience has shown that your members will enjoy this session as much as Mr. Jefferson’s prepared remarks! Questions can be on any topic. Nothing is off-limits.

This portion can last for the time available or until all questions are answered, whichever comes first.

Most people need a little time to think about a question to ask. To provide that “thinking time,” I ask that you plant a couple questions to be asked at the very beginning. These questions get the session rolling. Without this help, the Q & A can fall flat.

I can provide several getting-started questions if you like, but I’d prefer not to. This portion is best unscripted. Planting my questions to get things started could make the whole session look staged. I don’t want that.

If I provide questions, the ones who ask them cannot stand up and read their question from a piece of paper. That really looks phony. Each questioner needs to read and understand the question and then ask it from memory, paraphrasing it in their own words.

Conclusion:

1. My first choice is for you to plant three questions of your choosing, with people who are prepared to ask them immediately at the beginning of the Q&A.

2. Second choice is for me to supply you with three questions, to plant with people who are prepared to ask them immediately at the beginning of the session

3. Not a choice at all is to open the Q&A with no one prepared to ask questions. (I’ve been there. It’s not pretty!)